Many of us are guilty of using food for self-soothing at some point or another; we’re occasional emotional eaters. Compulsive overeaters, however, do it on a regular basis – they are unable to stop. At its worst, emotional eating can lead to disorders such as bulimia and chronic health difficulties stemming from being overweight: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart ailments, mobility problems, high cholesterol, and a whole host of other very undesirable situations. Signs that emotional eating has crossed the line into a serious problem may include:
Bingeing
Depression
Feelings about self-worth based entirely on weight
Belief that you’d be a better person if only you were thin
Feeling out of control of your eating habits
Attributing any failures in your life to your weight
Mentally “beating yourself up” after a binge
Withdrawing from normal activities because you’re embarrassed about your weight
Hiding food from your loved ones, or lying about how much you’ve eaten
Eating very little in front of others, then gorging when you’re alone